Eviction Notice (2 page)

Part I

AN INTRODUCTION TO GANGSTERISM

CHAPTER 1

The sky was
rich with darkness that night. The meteorologist with the bad hairpiece on the CBS
Morning News
had predicted that the rain would stop by that afternoon, but it was approaching midnight and it was still going. Every few seconds one of the whirling clouds would belch a rumble, followed by bright flashes of menacing lightning. When the flashes of lightning caught them right, they made the thick drops look like diamonds raining over Harlem. If only this were so.

Holiday was slumped in the passenger seat of the gray Dodge Magnum, staring lazily at the smoke wafting from his nose and being sucked out through the partially cracked window. He had a hard face that told the tale of the wars he’d fought in the New York streets and detention centers. Holiday took another deep pull and held the smoke while he took a gulp from the pint of Hennessy that was sitting on his lap. Holding everything in until his eyes were good and bloody from the rush, Holiday finally passed the weed to Baby Doc, who was behind the wheel.

Baby Doc tried his best to look cool when he reached for the bottle and blunt simultaneously, using only his knees to steer, and he almost lost control of the vehicle. Baby Doc quickly regained control of the station wagon and tried to play it off like he was cool, but Holiday had already given him the
face,
that look of disappointment he got from his big homie when he did some silly shit.

Holiday was only three years his senior, but he was
connected,
whereas Baby Doc was still just a wannabe trying to crawl out from under his father’s shadow. Big Doc was Holiday’s OG and shot caller of their crew. He was a tough old dog who had seen heaven and hell and was still on the block to talk shit about it. Holiday was Big Doc’s eyes, ears, and, when necessary, judgment on the streets, and because of this the older heads gave him a wider berth than the rest of the up-and-comers. Baby Doc looked up to Holiday and wanted to walk a mile in his shoes.

A cut Baby Doc liked came through the speakers so he cranked the volume. The bass from the song was so heavy that it rattled the speakers and Holiday’s teeth.

“What yo turn that shit up so loud, B.?” Holiday turned the volume down to a respectable level.

“Chill, that’s Lord Scientific.” Baby Doc readjusted the dial.

“Lord who?”

“Lord Scientific, he’s this new cat from outta Jersey. Holiday, this cat is hard,
pause
.”

Holiday listened to the vulgar lyrics about gang banging and murder and found himself bobbing his head. “He’s type nice, but I ain’t never heard of him.”

“That’s because you outta the loop, kid. Lord Scientific is all over the Internet and the news,” Baby Doc said, filling him in.

“The news, what the fuck is he, one of them new rap celebrities?” Holiday laughed.

“Nah, Lord Scientific is a gangsta rapper, but he’s really off that shit he be kicking. Yo, me and a few of the homies was at this club in Brooklyn a few weeks ago when he came to perform and that shit got super ugly. Some kids tried to snatch his chain in the middle of the performance and that muthafucka went ham! On my moms, Lord Scientific jumped off the stage and outta nowhere bust out with like ten razors. There was so much blood on the floor that I had to throw my Timbs away after that shit.”

Holiday shook his head. “Rappers trying to be gangstas and gangstas trying to be rappers, what is this world coming to?”

“Nah, Lord Scientific ain’t playing, he’s the real deal.”

“Baby Doc, you stay on some starstruck shit. What you need to do is turn off that fucking radio ever once and a while and digest some of this game being dropped on you.” Holiday shut off the radio. “See, that’s the problem with y’all li’l niggaz, you’re more focused on shit that goes on outside your world then you are with what’s going on in it. The same way you know all these rappers, you need to know the names and faces of every nigga in our organization. This is the trap, li’l nigga, not the MTV awards.”

Baby Doc twisted his lips. “Holiday, you need to loosen the fuck up. All you ever talk about is the trap this, and the block that.”

“Muthafucka, because that’s all I know,” Holiday snapped. “I am these muthafucking streets, so I always gotta know what’s going on with me. It’s this type of thinking that has me sitting on the inside while your ass is still peeking through the window waiting on yo daddy to let you in!”

“Man, fuck you.” Baby Doc went back to looking at the road. He hated when Holiday tried to come at him like a kid, and had a hard time hiding it.

“BD, I know you ain’t getting sensitive on me.” Holiday pushed him playfully, but Baby Doc was nonresponsive. “Come on, BD, don’t act like that. I’m just trying to keep you on your toes, my nigga.”

“Holiday, your problem is that you don’t know how to talk to people. I know I’m the youngest of the crew, but I’m still a man,” Baby Doc declared.

“Is that right?” Holiday looked at him disbelievingly.

“Muthafucking straight. Y’all keep looking at me like Big Doc’s kid, but there’s gonna come a day when I gotta get my weight up and step outta my father’s shadow.”

“Baby Doc, there’s more to this shit than what you think. It’s one thing to get your hands dirty, but when it comes time for you to receive that blemish on your soul…” Holiday shook his head. “I don’t know many who can carry that load.”

“So you think I’m a pussy?” Baby Doc eyeballed Holiday.

“Not at all, BD. I know what your bloodline is so I would never slander your pedigree. All I’m saying to you is that being a part of this family is not something to do, but a way to live.”

“Whatever, man, you just don’t think I’ll pop off. Watch, you’re gonna see how I give it up one day.”

All Holiday could do was sigh. “Out of love for you and your dad, I pray that day never comes.” Holiday relit the blunt, which had gone out. “You’ve got a lot to learn about these streets, BD. They can be easy lessons or hard ones, that’s on you. But as long as you’re under me you’ll keep your mind on game and off shit that ain’t gonna help you, understand?”

Baby Doc nodded, as he had been more preoccupied with a girl crossing the street whose soaked dress was showing her goodies to anyone looking. A slap to the back of the head from Holiday brought him back to attention.

“I said do you understand me?” Holiday barked. Baby Doc nodded. “Good.”

When they rolled through the light at the corner of 132nd and Madison, Holiday sat up and peered out the window at a group of young men posted up in front of the corner bodega. “See, it’s niggaz like these are a prime example of what I mean about you li’l niggaz focusing on the wrong shit. They’re dead foul right now, but floating around like they ain’t got a care in the world. Young and dumb.”

Baby Doc peered over across Holiday and squinted. “I know them kids, I went to school with the tall one, Buck, but son dropped out last year.” Baby Doc pointed to the tall light-skinned kid wearing the green do-rag on his head.

“Well, he should’ve stayed, because his dumb ass still has a lot to learn.” Holiday removed his nines from the stash spot. “Pull over, son.”

“Beef?” Baby Doc asked Holiday, ready to get down for his mentor and friend.

Holiday smiled and mushed Baby Doc playfully. “It ain’t beef unless both parties are willing to kill.” Holiday winked at him and slid from the car. Immediately all eyes fell on the approaching Holiday. Everyone tensed except the kid who had been identified as Buck. Buck folded his arms across his chest and glared at Holiday.

“What you need, son?” Buck asked with an attitude.

“Just a li’l information,” Holiday told him.

“Then you need to take your ass to the seventh floor of 100 Centre Street, because ain’t no snitches on this corner,” Buck capped, drawing laughter from his boys.

Holiday gave him a crooked grin. “You a funny dude, real talk. Listen, I ain’t got a lot of time to play with shit birds like you so I’m gonna keep this short and sweet. Whose corner is this?”

“Son, you out here asking a whole lot of questions for a nigga I don’t know,” Buck said defiantly.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners? My name is Holiday.” At the mention of Holiday’s name, everyone suddenly got very quiet. Even if you didn’t know Holiday by face you knew his reputation. He was the enforcer for Big Doc, one of Shai Clark’s capos. “From the look on your face, I’m gonna assume you know who I am.”

“Yeah, I heard of you,” Buck said sheepishly.

“That’s a good thing, so you know how I give it up. Now I’m gonna ask you one more time: whose corner is this?”

Buck hesitated for a few minutes before whispering, “King James.”

“Wrong answer.” Holiday shot Buck in the thigh. Buck rolled around on the ground whimpering in pain while his crew watched in shock. “Listen to me and listen well,” Holiday addressed the horrified young boys. “This shit is property of Shai Clark. If you don’t get money for my team then you don’t get money for NOBODY. Are we clear?” No one said a word. “I’ll take your silence as a yes. Now get this pussy to a hospital because he’s bleeding all over my street.” Holiday stomped on Buck’s injured thigh for good measure and got back in the whip.

*   *   *

“What the fuck
was that about, Holiday?” Baby Doc asked when they were safely away from the crime scene.

“That was about me letting niggaz know what time it is out here,” Holiday said dismissively.

“I think you did a little more than let him know what time it is. You shot that kid in front of mad witnesses.”

“What’s your point, BD?”

“My point is, maybe we should’ve found out more about this King James cat before you popped off. You never know what may come of this.”

Holiday gave Baby Doc a disbelieving look. “Li’l nigga, do you hear yourself? This ain’t no damn democracy, niggaz violate and they get it and I don’t give a fuck who they’re connected to if their last name isn’t Clark!” Holiday declared.

“Holiday, I was only saying—”

“You wasn’t saying shit,” Holiday cut him off. “Baby Doc, this ain’t like college where shit is decided with student unions, this is the streets and disputes are resolved over pistols. You wanted to be a gangster, right? So stop crying and play ya fucking position.”

“Whatever you say, Holiday,” Baby Doc told him.

“Muthafucking right. Who the fuck is King James anyway?”

CHAPTER 2

Johnny-O lounged on
the velvet sofa with the remote control in one hand and the thigh of a pretty brown thing in the other. The stuffy project apartment was thick with the smoke of purple haze from the Dutch burning between his lips. At the dining-room table bagging up crack were two of the young boys Johnny-O had on his payroll. Once they were finished bagging it up, the crack would be distributed to the night shift when they came on at midnight. The brown fox leaned over and whispered nasty things into Johnny-O’s ear, giving him an instant erection.

“Y’all hurry up and finish bagging that shit up. I’ve got business to attend to,” Johnny-O told his workers, never taking his hungry eyes off the girl. He had heard through the grapevine that she was a superfreak and couldn’t wait to see if the rumors were true about her not having a gag reflex. There was a knock at the door and Johnny-O cursed, as it was sure to be one more thing delaying him from getting to her sweetness. He gave one of the workers the nod, and with pistol in hand he crept to the door and looked through the peephole.

“It’s the nigga Antoine,” the worker told Johnny-O.

“Yo, tell that base-head ass nigga to get the fuck away from this door and cop in front of the building like everybody else,” Johnny-O ordered.

The worker nodded eagerly. He had never liked Antoine and looked forward to barking on him. He placed the gun on the table and undid the locks on the door. When the worker snatched the door open, his lips poised to spew venom at Antoine, something smashed into his mouth and cracked two of his teeth. The worker spilled to the ground, holding his bloody mouth and trying to figure out what was going on. By the time Johnny-O even thought to reach for his gun on the coffee table, three masked gunmen had rushed into his apartment.

“G’head and reach for it, sun, so I can open ya fucking melon,” the shortest of the gunmen warned, waving a MAC 11 menacingly at Johnny-O.

The girl on the couch began screaming hysterically as the gunmen inched toward her. The lanky robber tried to shush her, but she just kept screaming, so he tried a different approach and slapped her viciously across the mouth. The girl flipped over the armrest and landed on the floor. The lanky gunman pressed the .38 to her forehead and placed one finger over his lips for silence. Immediately the girl’s hysterical screaming was reduced to heavy sobbing. The gunman took her by the arm and tossed her on the couch next to Johnny-O, who was sweating like a runaway slave.

“You niggaz got big balls coming in there like this,” Johnny-O said, trying to sound tough. His heart was beating a million miles per minute as he sat there wondering if he was going to die.

“If you open that pretty mouth of yours again I’m gonna show you a pair of balls that you won’t soon forget,” the leader of the gunmen said. He was a muscular man holding a dusty-looking .45. “Y’all get the money and the work. If any one of these dizzy muthafuckas move, put the love on ’em.” His henchmen hurriedly did as they were told. “Looks like you’re doing good for yourself these days, Johnny”—the gunman ran his hand down the terrified girl’s thigh—“
real
good.”

“Get your fucking hands off her.” Johnny-O slapped the gunman’s hand away and sprang to his feet. Feeling the .45 under his chin cut his moment of courage short and he eased back down to the couch.

“Tender-hearted ass nigga, you ready to die for this bitch?” the leader asked mockingly.

“Y’all gonna be the ones who die when word that you robbed Born’s spot gets out. We’re connected to some major players and you just fucked yourself,” Johnny-O threatened.

The leader reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a thick link chain that was stained with blood. Johnny’s eyes widened as he stared at the medallion, which was slightly smaller than a saucer. It was the number 7 tucked in a crescent moon, laid over black onyx. Johnny knew the chain well because for the last three years Born had always worn it.

“No,” Johnny-O whispered.

“Oh yes.” The leader of the invaders removed his mask. For some reason, Johnny-O wasn’t surprised when he saw who it was that had come to pay him a visit. The gunman smiled, showing his perfect white teeth, and placed the .45 to Johnny-O’s cheek. “It’s like I told y’all faggots when I came home: there’s only enough room in Harlem for one king.” He squeezed the trigger and put the lower portion of Johnny-O’s jaw on the coffee table.

*   *   *

“Yo God, you
got blood on my fucking Timbs,” Lakim told King James when they got back to the stash house, which was an abandoned apartment in West Harlem. After the murder/robbery they had made a beeline back to the hood to divvy up the spoils.

“Here, buy yourself five more pairs.” King James threw a handful of money at Lakim and laughed. “You okay, Fangs?” King addressed the third man who was in the apartment with them. He was sitting by the window, chain-smoking cigarettes with a worried expression on his face.

“Yeah, I’m good, man. I just thought we were gonna go in there and rob Johnny-O, not kill him,” Fangs said nervously.

King James walked over and placed a reassuring arm around Fangs. “Sometimes you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet, my nigga. No need to worry, because the blood is on my hands and not yours. But on another note, you did good with shooting us that info about Johnny-O’s stash house.”

This made Fangs smile a bit. “It wasn’t about nothing, I was glad to be able to help out.”

“But something has me curious: you been down with that cat for like a year—didn’t you feel no way about giving him up like that?”

Fangs spat out the window. “Fuck him. All this time I’ve been working for that nigga and he still ain’t trying to put me in position to see no real bread, so I figured, why not take it?”

James laughed. “I guess you can’t argue with that kinda logic.”

“But yo, y’all gonna put me down with the team now, right?” Fangs asked eagerly. He knew after what he had done he would need some type of team behind him to keep him eating.

“True indeed. In fact, I’ve got something for you to show how much we appreciate you.” King James raised the .45 and blew Fangs’s face off.

“What the fuck you do that for?” Lakim hopped up off the chair in shock.

“He who recognizes a snake and still invites it into his home is a fool, and I ain’t never been no dummy, La. If he turned on Johnny-O, how long do you think it would’ve been before he turned on us? Fuck him.” King James spat on the corpse. “Go get that lighter fluid from under the kitchen sink so we can get rid of this pussy and this crib.”

After setting the apartment on fire, King and Lakim hurried back to the car and away from the burning building. Lakim watched in the rearview mirror as the flames came spewing out of the apartment. “Damn, looks like the whole building is gonna go. Do you think we might have overdone it?”

“There’s no such thing as overdoing it when you’re trying to make a point,” King said.

“My dude, it’s been a long time since we had a nigga like you on the streets of New York.”

“Correction: there ain’t never been a nigga on the streets like me and there never will be,” King James said confidently as they drove off into the night.